Bill W: The absorbing and deeply moving life story of Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
by Robert Thomsen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert ThomsenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-08-31
ISBN: 1568383436
Number of pages: 344
Publisher: Hazelden
Book Reviews of Bill W: The absorbing and deeply moving life story of Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
Book Review: A very good, but incomplete biography
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been a "friend" of Bill and Dr. Bob since Christmas 1990, and have read a lot of material, both "conference approved" and other, and this biography of Bill W. ranks among the best, but it definitely gives the impression of being written from Bill's perspective.
Fully half the book is devoted to Bill's childhood and early adulthood, through his marriage to Lois and up to the fateful encounter with Dr. Bob, and so this fleshes out that portion of his life. I was disappointed, however, in that the impact and devastation of Bill's many (and prolonged) drinking binges seemed somewhat minimized with regard to their impact on the lives of Bill and Lois as a young married couple. Perhaps Bill simply had a poor recollection of these episodes, as he was not in great condition to remember these things, and so these are not fully reflected in Thomsen's work.
The latter half of Thomsen's book deals with better known AA history, but as a biography of Bill's life, my impression is this book glosses over the other human frailties of Bill, and so does not present as complete a picture as it could of this remarkable man. I think the reader would be more impressed with Bill's life accomplishments if more of his human "character defects" were revealed in this book.
I strongly suggest also reading Francis Hartigan's "Bill W.: A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson" to help fill in the deficiencies and areas not covered by Robert Thomsen. Hartigan's book better presents Lois Wilson's perspective, and more completely covers topics such as the terrible impact of Bill's binges on his business ventures and marriage, Bill's infidelities, his long periods of depression, Bill's exploration of the potential therapeutic uses of LSD and Niacin for the treatment of alcoholism, and does a better job, in my opinion, painting a more full picture of Bill Wilson.
DD...GTM... RTBB
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